Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread 5/23/20 [KT]

Hi, everybody! Above, a flag at sunrise from Larro, in honor of the Memorial Day Weekend. Below, the first Gaillaria of the season from 40 miles north.

And Larro also found a surprise in his garden this week.

Didn't remember planting anything. Wonder if someone else did?

International gardening and other outdoor activities

Our new Swiss garden guide dog, Gioia, takes us today on a retrospective jaunt through the woods to a little grocery store, during their lockdown, which is now being lifted with some conditions.

There was a little rock garden outside the grocery, with an alpine ground cover

And some appropriate succulents

Back home, there were early primroses and bulbs.

This week, she went to visit her mother, Bella, on the farm where she was born.

She flirted with a horse.

Back home, there was a rhododendron in bloom, and barbecue in preparation.

Sausages and asparagus. So Swiss. Cheesy potatoes and other fixin's not shown.

The Edible Garden

Fruits and vegetables are trying to kill you.

I have often suspected artichokes of murderous intent. Do you have other suspects?

Warding off the diseases of aging is certainly a worthwhile pursuit. But evidence has mounted to suggest that antioxidant vitamin supplements, long assumed to improve health, are ineffectual. Fruits and vegetables are indeed healthful but not necessarily because they shield you from oxidative stress. In fact, they may improve health for quite the opposite reason: They stress you.

That stress comes courtesy of trace amounts of naturally occurring pesticides and anti-grazing compounds. You already know these substances as the hot flavors in spices, the mouth-puckering tannins in wines, or the stink of Brussels sprouts. They are the antibacterials, antifungals, and grazing deterrents of the plant world. In the right amount, these slightly noxious substances, which help plants survive, may leave you stronger.

I am not afraid. Here is the veggie garden of friends of ours. Looks better than ours. We're doing weed control.

Last Saturday, the same day we discussed rhubarb, Maggie's Farm posted a recipe: Repels Viruses: Rhubarb Crumble

From the comments:

Rhubarb is a garden all star:

Can't be killed
Looks kinda tropical with its big leaves
Big leaves can be spread to choke out weeds or thrown right in the compost bin
Can be used as a fan
You can hit people with the stalks
Easy to process
Can split one plant into 2
The fiber in it helps you poop
* Like sour celery

Say, strawberries go with rhubarb. Cumberland Astro has strawberries!

I'm enjoying the first backyard harvesting of 2020 - my Tribute Strawberries are once again coming in strong from my little 4' by 4' strawberry patch. I started picking about 20 berries a day about a week ago, with an especially good harvest today (see pictures.) This heavy production will go on for a few more weeks before tapering off to a steady trickle of berries throughout summer. These aren't huge strawberries, but they are flavorful, and they're not hollow in the middle like many large strawberries. Other than this little patch planted three years ago I've never grown strawberries before. I've given them no special treatment or care yet they've stayed healthy and productive, so I'm very pleased with this varietal.

Long-season berries!

Gardens of The Horde

From the garden of Mr. and Mrs. Invisible Hand. Matilija Poppies, backlit.

Biggist wildflower in California. They spread underground, forming colonies, so the plants get big, too.

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at g mail dot com

Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.

posted by Open Blogger at 01:10 PM

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